


To Be A Pirate

by ravenclawgirl98



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, The Black Pearl (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:53:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28494909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenclawgirl98/pseuds/ravenclawgirl98
Summary: Angelica Swann is the younger sister of Elizabeth Swann. Elizabeth was always favored by her father and feels like everyone constantly compares her to Elizabeth. When she scares off yet another man that her father had arranged for her to be married to, her father has finally had enough. But before she can be shipped off to England to learn how to be a proper lady, pirates attack Port Royal, and she finds herself in a desperate race to save her sister.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

“Angelica!”

Yet another suitor had practically fled the Swann house, claiming that the youngest of the Swann daughters was much too independent for their taste.

Angelica sighed as she stood in front of her father. Governor Swann had a look of disappointment on his face. “That’s the fifth suitor in the past two and a half months, Angelica! You cannot keep turning them away like that!”

“I can and I will.” Angelica replied heatedly. “These men want me to submit to them, to birth their children and take care of their households. I don’t want that for my life, Father! I want to be able to explore the world, I want to travel the seas!”

“If I didn’t know better, I would say that you want to be a pirate. You don’t know what you’re talking about Angelica, the right man will come along-”

Angelica groaned, rolling her emerald-colored eyes. “Father, I don’t want to marry! You can’t make me!”

More than anything, Angelica wanted to be able to explore, and in that day and age, it was not only uncommon for a woman to do that, but frowned upon.

“You cannot just go gallivanting around like some ragamuffin!” Governor Swann shouted. “You are my daughter, and you are going to act accordingly! Honestly, why couldn’t you be more like Elizabeth-”

“Well, I’m sorry for not being the perfect daughter that you want me to be.” Angelica turned on her heel, storming to her room, slamming her door loudly. She paced around her room, mumbling and grumbling to herself. Was it really so wrong that she wanted to explore the world? She could do anything that a man could do if only people would let her prove herself capable.

There was a light knock on her door before a maid walked into the room. “Are you alright miss?” The maid, whose name was Genevieve, was around seventeen years of age, the same age as Angelica. “The master giving you a hard time again?”

Angelica nodded her head. “Why can’t he just understand that I don’t _want_ to marry?”

“The master is only trying to do what’s best for you miss, he cares about you.”

“If he cared about me then he wouldn’t constantly be comparing me to my sister.” Angelica could hear vague voices coming from the front hall, Will Turner had arrived with the sword that Weatherby Swann had wanted him to make for Captain Norrington’s promotion to Commodore.

“Is it true that Commodore Norrington is going to ask for your sister’s hand?”

Unfortunately.” Angelica responded, wrinkling her nose a bit. Norrington was a good ten years older than Elizabeth. They had known him when they were _children_ , for crying out loud, and now Elizabeth was most likely going to be married to him. She knew that Elizabeth wasn’t going to decline his proposal; Elizabeth had always been the obedient daughter, and Governor Swann had voiced many times how good a pairing Norrington and Elizabeth would make.

“Genevieve, don’t ever get married.” Angelica muttered to the other girl, who giggled softly. “Oh trust me, I don’t plan on getting married anytime soon, or at all for that matter. In my opinion, men are overrated.”

Angelica laughed at that, she didn’t know what she would do without this girl.

Angelica gasped as the corset was pulled tightly around her frame. “Is it really necessary for this to be so bloody _tight_?”

“Watch your language!” The older woman slapped Angelica on the arm, and Angelica scowled at the old croon that was her governess. Seventeen years old and her father thought that she still needed a nanny.

The governess in question, Dorothea Appleby, was seventy years old, her face covered with wrinkles and her head barely having a single strand of hair upon it. She was also incredibly stern, and hardly a day went by when Angelica wasn’t slapped or scolded in some manner.

“Your waist is too large, probably due to all of those sweets that you eat.” The governess tutted, and Angelica found herself rolling her eyes for the second time that day. “Well excuse me for enjoying the finer things in life.”

Another slap on the arm. “With how you talk, it’s no wonder that you haven’t managed to find a suitor. If you don’t straighten up your ways, then you are never going to find yourself a husband, and you’ll die alone.” She pulled the corset even tighter, and Angelica gasped for air. The governess was finally satisfied, and she helped Angelica with the rest of her dress. “There. Run along now, your father and sister are waiting for you downstairs.”

“Angelica, you look lovely.” Her father complimented her as Angelica walked down the stairs.

“Is beauty worth not being able to breathe?” Angelica grumbled, causing her sister to hold back a laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m probably going to pass out at some point myself.” Elizabeth whispered to her, and the girls both giggled quietly as the family walked out to the waiting carriages.

Even though Angelica was constantly compared to her older sister, the two got along quite well.

“What are you going to do if the Commodore decides to ask for your hand in marriage?” Angelica asked Elizabeth. Her father had taken a separate carriage than the two of them, allowing them to talk freely, something that occurred far less than Angelica might have liked.

“I’ll accept his proposal I suppose.” Elizabeth responded, but the answer sounded rehearsed, like something that she had practiced saying over and over again. “He has a very prominent position in society, and I would never want for anything.”

“He’s also like, fifteen years older than you are. Don’t you find that the least bit disturbing? I mean, we’ve known him since we were children, and now you’re most likely going to be getting married to the man.”

“Sometimes we don’t get what we want. Someday Angelica, you’ll be in the same place that I am, considering you manage to find a suitor that you don’t scare off. “

Angelica snorted as she stared out the window. “That won’t happen anytime soon, not if I have anything to say on the matter.”

“Would it really be so bad to get married someday?”

“Elizabeth, the men that have asked for my hand in marriage have either wanted the wealth that comes with my hand, or were only interested in what’s in between my legs. None of them are even mildly interested in who I am as a person. If I were to marry, then I want to marry for love, and someone who can love me in return.”

Angelica was silent the rest of the ride, and Elizabeth, thankfully, seemed to notice that Angelica wanted to be left alone. Angelica knew that someone of her status rarely married someone that they were truly in love with, it was always for money. Angelica didn’t want to marry a man for practicality or because he had money, she wanted to marry someone because she loved them and they loved her in return. Maybe she was being a bit naive, or put a little too much faith in fairy tales, but that was just how she was. If only she knew how drastically her life was about to change. Both the Swann girls were going to be having their own adventures, adventures that would be starting that very day.


	2. Chapter 2

Trigger Warning for blood.

Good Lord above, this was boring. Angelica found herself stifling a yawn as the ceremony seemed to go on for ages. Finally it ended, Captain Norrington was now Commodore Norrington. People mingled around, and Angelica watched as Norrington made his way over to Elizabeth and started to talk to her. 

Angelica groaned, picking at her nails out of pure boredom. This was going to take ages, she just knew it.

"Glad to see that I'm not the only one who's having a horrid time at this." A boy who looked to be the same age as Angelica, with light brown hair and warm, auburn eyes walked up to her. "Such a pompous ass, isn't he?"

"That he is." Angelica agreed with a laugh. 

"And I should know, I'm his brother."

Angelica blinked in surprise. "I didn't know-"

"That he had a brother? Well, half-brother actually. Even so, I'm not someone that he likes to make known his relation, considering that I'm the result between his mother and the butcher. I'm a bastard, and as such, it seems to make him think that I am only worthy of the very basic things. I've been living with him ever since Mother died."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Angelica knew what it was like to lose a mother at a young age. She had lost her own after all.

"It was a fever that took her, she was always frail, health-wise." He bowed to her. "Daniel Hawthorne, at your service."

Angelica curtsied, a smile on her lips. "Angelica Swann, it's a pleasure indeed my good sir." 

"Good sir?" He smirked playfully. "I've been called a lot of things in my life, but good sir has never been one of them."

"Well-" Angelica was cut off by a cry of surprise from Norrington, and she glanced over to him, only to discover that the spot that Elizabeth had been vacating was now empty. 

"Elizabeth fell into the water!" Norrington cried out, and Angelica gasped. She quickly hiked up her dress and dashed over to him, peering over the edge of the wall and into the ocean below.

"Come on." Daniel grabbed her arm. "We should go to the docks, hopefully your sister is a good swimmer." 

Angelica stared at the water in shock, gasping a moment later. "Someone just jumped in after her!" She pushed Norrington to the side, hiking up her dress once more and dashing down to the docks, her father and Daniel right on her heels.

Angelica was faster than the others, even in her dress, and she reached the dock right as the strange man and Elizabeth were swimming up to it. Elizabeth had been stripped of her dress, leaving her in just her corset and underthings. 

"Not breathing." She heard the man mutter, and she watched as he took out a knife, ripping Elizabeth's corset open. At first, there was no reaction, and for a brief moment, Angelica feared the worst, but then her sister started to cough and spit out water.

Angelica felt overcome with relief. "Elizabeth!" She shouted, running forward, falling onto her knees next to her older sister. "Are you alright?"

Elizabeth nodded her head. "I don't care what Father says." She croaked out. "I am never wearing a corset ever again." 

Angelica looked at the man, who seemed fixated on Elizabeth's chest, as well the medallion that was around her neck. Angelica had never understood what Elizabeth's obsession with that thing was. Better to just toss it into the sea and be done with it, in her opinion. 

"Where did you get that?" Jack asked Elizabeth, and if Angelica didn't know better, she would say that his voice was filled with some kind of dread. 

Well, he never got the answer to his question. Norrington was there a moment later, holding a sword to the man's throat. 

As it turned out, the man was a pirate, Norrington had discovered a 'p' branded onto his wrist. There was something else too, a tattoo of a bird flying across water, right above the branding. 

"Well well…" Norrington chuckled at this discovery. "Jack Sparrow, is it?"

"Captain Jack Sparrow." Jack corrected him. Angelica looked at Jack with intrigue. A pirate? And a pirate captain no less? If he was a pirate captain, then where was his crew? And why had he bothered to save Elizabeth? Weren't all pirates supposed to be ruthless and heartless? Apparently not. Well...then again…

Jack was shackled, and Angelica looked at Norrington. "Are you really going to arrest the man who just saved my sister's life!"

"Surely he deserves some sort of pardon." Elizabeth agreed, but Norrington shook his head. "One good deed is not enough to redeem a man from a lifetime of wickedness." 

"James-" Daniel started to say, but Norrington shot him a look. "Enough Daniel. The decision is made, the law must be followed."

Everything after that happened so quickly. The men that had gathered there put their weapons away. Jack acted quick as lightning and wrapped the chain of his shackles around the woman who was closest to him, which just so happened to be Angelica.

The men drew their pistols, but they couldn't shoot without the possibility of one of their bullets hitting Angelica. 

"I can't believe I tried to vouch for you." Angelica growled, and Jack chuckled. "Haven't you ever learned to not trust a pirate little girl?" 

"First of all, I am  _ not  _ a little girl." Angelica jabbed her elbow into Jack’s stomach and he staggered back, grunting in pain. "Second of all, if you're going to use a woman as your hostage, make sure it's one that doesn't know how to take care of herself. " Angelica slipped out of Jack's grip. Hiking up her dress one final time, she kicked, her foot making contact with his groin. Jack cried out in a high, squeaky voice and he took off, the soldiers right on his tail. 

"Angelica…" Weatherby Swann was staring at his youngest daughter in shock.

"It would seem that your daughter is quite a capable fighter, Governor Swann." Daniel said, grinning at Angelica. 

"Daniel, escort the Governor and his daughters back to their house." Norrington commanded. "This man is not going to get away with what he has done." 

"Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked Angelica as they walked off of the dock. Angelica had some bruising on her neck from the chains, but that was the farthest thing from her mind. "I can't believe that we actually got to meet a  _ pirate _ ." She said in an excited whisper. Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Only you would be thrilled to have met a pirate." She teased her, although she had felt a certain thrill herself. 

They reached a carriage, and Daniel helped Governor Swann and Elizabeth to enter it before offering his hand to Angelica. "You were quite brave today, my lady."

"Well, I wasn't about to just let that Sparrow fellow take me hostage." Angelica retorted before taking his hand, allowing him to help her into the carriage. 

"Well I, for one, am just glad that pirate was not able to hurt you." Governor Swann said nothing about Angelica's self-defense abilities, and the girl sighed softly to herself.

That night, as Genevieve was helping Angelica to get ready for bed, talk turned to the events of that day. "I would have been terrified." Genevieve said as she ran a brush through Angelica's hair. 

"Oh Genevieve, it was so exciting!" Angelica replied. "I wish you could have been there." 

"I'll be having nothing to do with pirates, thank you very- what's that?" 

"Hmm?" 

Genevieve was looking out the window, and Angelica followed her gaze. There was a soft red glow, almost like the sunset. But it wasn't the sunset. Angelica gasped softly, quickly standing up. No, that wasn't the sunset, that was the glow of many fires. 

"What on Earth is happening out there?" Genevieve asked, and Angelica shook her head. "I...I don't know."

Angelica could hear shouting from downstairs, the sound of swords clashing together. Fear gripped the woman's heart. What on Earth was happening? 

Angelica went to her door, creeping out and meeting Elizabeth in the hall. 

"What's going on?" Angelica whispered, and Elizabeth shook her head. "I have no idea." 

Both girls peered over the railing just in time to see a man stab their butler in the chest.

Both girls let out an audible gasp, and the man turned to look at them. Elizabeth quickly gripped Angelica, making her look at her older sister. "Go to your room, barricade the door. Go!" 

Angelica fled into her room, where Genevieve was, but someone else was there too. A tall, dark-skinned man stood there, am arm wrapped around Genevieve, a sword held against her throat. "The medallion!" He snarled at her. "Where is it?!"

"I-I don't know-" 

There was the sound of swords slicing against skin, and Angelica watched as Genevieve crumpled to the ground, blood pouring out of her throat. 

Angelica let out a scream, and the man started to advance upon her. She looked around for something to defend herself, the only thing being her oil lamp. She quickly grabbed it and threw it at him before running to her door and yanking it open, running out into the hall, where it was total chaos. 


	3. Chapter 3

Angelica's eyes widened to the size of tea saucers, what on Earth was going on? Port Royal had never been attacked before, no pirate had dared to try to invade Port Royal before. With all of the English soldiers that were there, it would be like signing your death warrant. 

The dark-skinned man that had killed Genevieve exited Angelica's bedroom, his sword still dripping with her close friend's blood. He advanced upon Angelica, trapping her against a wall. "I'm going to ask you one more time. The medallion, where is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Angelica shouted. This all had to be some terrible nightmare that she would be waking up from. The man raised his sword, and Angelica closed her eyes. Once more she heard the sound of steel slicing through skin, but it wasn't her skin. She opened her eyes to see the man with a sword in his stomach, standing behind him was Daniel Norrington. . But something was wrong. He didn't fall to the ground, there was no blood. The man growled at Daniel, whose eyes were wide. He looked around, quickly grabbing a side table and using it to push the man back, over a railing and to the floor below. Daniel then sheathed his sword before turning to her. "Are you alright?" He asked her, and Angelica nodded her head. "Yes, I think so, but...Genevieve..." A strangled cry left her throat, and Daniel pulled her into a hug. 

"Ssh, it's alright, I've got you. But we must get you somewhere safe. Is there a back way that we can use to get out of here?"

"Yes, the servant's staircase, it leads out to the stables, from there we can leave and head towards town."

"Come." Daniel took her hand, and they ran to the staircase in question. They entered the stables, horses nickering and weighing, unaware that anything was wrong.

"Get on." Daniel quickly helped her onto one of the horses. As he opened the stable doors, a thundering sound came from the staircase and about three or four pirates burst out into the stables. 

"Angelica, go!" Daniel shouted as he pulled out his sword, and the girl shook her head. "No! I'm not leaving you!"

"GO!" He smacked the horse hard on its hindquarter, and it took off with Angelica holding on for dear life. 

In town, it was just as bad as it was at her house, if not worse. Shops were ablaze, people were terrified, screaming and running for their lives. Angelica's eyes narrowed as she saw a pirate pinning a woman to the ground, trying to rip her dress off. 

"Hyah!" Angelica urged her horse forward, and as it ran towards the duo, Angelica jumped, landing on the pirate's back and pulling him off of the woman. The pirate scrambled to his feet, taking out his sword. "You're going to pay for that, missy."

Angelica looked around for something that she could use to defend herself with, and she pulled the lid off of a barrel containing red apples. She held it in front of her chest as he swung his sword, and the blade got lodged in the wood. He tried to pull it out, but it was stuck fast. Angelica smirked, and she whirled the lid around, and she hit him in the head, sending him sprawling to the ground. 

"Are you hurt?" Angelica asked the woman, who shook her head. "No, I'm alright, thanks to you."

"You should get going, find somewhere that you can barricade yourself in."

The woman took off, and Angelica walked through the streets, looking at the carnage that was around her. It was nearing dawn now, and in the rising sunlight, Angelica saw someone on the ground that she knew very well.

"Will!" She gasped, running towards him. She slightly shook him by the shoulders, and Will groaned as he started to wake up. Angelica could see a nasty looking bump that was starting to form on his head.

"Elizabeth..." He murmured. "They've taken her."

"What do you mean, Will? Who's taken Elizabeth?"

"The pirates..."

Angelica gasped softly. Elizabeth had been kidnapped? The pirates had all gone now, leaving nothing but chaos and flames in their wake. "Will, what are we going to do?" There was no telling what the pirates would do to Elizabeth, they could hurt her, rape her, or worse. Why would they want her anyway? Were they planning to use her as ransom? Weatherby Swann would most definitely pay handsomely to get his favored daughter back.

"We must inform Norrington." Will said as he stood up slowly. "He can send sailors out, they can save Elizabeth from the pirates."

But Norrington was of no help and neither was Angelica's father. Essentially the younger people were on their own. "Now what do we do?" Angelica huffed.

"I may be able to help you with that." Daniel walked up to them. "Angelica, I'm pleased to see that you managed to escape last night's events unharmed. Now, the pirate that saved Elizabeth, Jack Sparrow, he seems to know a great deal about the Black Pearl, the ship that the pirates used to invade Port Royal and snatch Elizabeth away. If anyone knows any possible places that they've taken Elizabeth to, it's Sparrow."

Although Angelica wasn't really looking forward to seeing the man that had tried to use her as leverage, right now, she had to admit that she didn't have any other choice.

"Let me be the one to talk to him." Daniel continued. "I've dealt with people like him before, he isn't the worst kind of pirate out there, and I think that he could be reasoned with."

"There's just one problem with that." Angelica stated. "He's locked in a prison cell, and he's probably going to be hung at the gallows as soon as things have calmed down a little bit."

"Which means that we'll have to act quickly. If we go between the changing of the guard, than we may have an opportunity to break him out."

Angelica still seemed slightly hesitant, and Daniel took her hands into his own. "Angelica, you want to save your sister, don't you?"

"Of course I do!"

"This may well be the only way that we can save her. While my brother and your father are just sitting on their hind ends _planning_ , we can actually _do_ something." 

Angelica took a deep breath. "Alright." She conceded, and Daniel grinned. "Excellent. Now, I do believe that we have a pirate we have to break out."


	4. Chapter 4

"Now, Angelica, we're going to have you stand guard outside of the cellblock." Daniel commanded her. "If anyone tries to come in, you need to distract them."

"And just how do you propose that I do that?"

"You're a female." Will spoke up. "Use your..." He gestured to her body with his hands. "Womanly wiles."

Angelica raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if you boys have noticed or not, but my wiles aren't exactly womanly." Angelica wasn't some kind of seductress that made men fall at her feet. Elizabeth had that kind of ability, not Angelica. The only reason that men wanted her hand in marriage was for the money that came with it. 

"Just try your best." Daniel told her. "Sparrow is our only hope of getting your sister back. Knock the fellow out if you have to, but just make sure that we aren't disturbed."

The two men scurried inside of the cell block, and Angelica sighed as she looked around. "Keep people from getting in...right." She muttered. Everything would be fine, wouldn't it? After all, how hard could this possibly be?

  
  


A few minutes had passed, and Angelica had started to think that maybe she would get out of this alright. So naturally, her thinking had to ruin things. A soldier walked towards her, he was relatively new to the job. Angelica could tell because of how uncomfortable he seemed to look in the stiff uniform that he was wearing. He was young too, he must have joined as soon as he had turned eighteen. 

Angelica plastered a smile on her face. "Hello, good sir, I was wondering if you could help me-"

"Women should not be near the cell block." He interrupted her, and Angelica frowned a bit. She could hear the cockiness in his voice, he was the type that thought just because he was a soldier, she had to do everything that he told her to. It was the type of man that Angelica hated. "I beg your pardon, sir-"

"Just run along and go back to your little wench friends in whatever whorehouse it is that you work in."

Wench? Whorehouse? Oh, that did it. "Now you listen here, you  _ insufferable  _ little boy. I am not just some common wench that will spread her legs if the price is right! I am Angelica Swann, the youngest daughter of Weatherby Swann, and I  _ will  _ be treated with respect!  _ Do I make myself perfectly clear _ ?"

"M-Miss Swann..." The man's demeanour had changed completely. "Please forgive me, I didn't recognize you-"

"Apparently you need to be taught a lesson in respect. What's your name?"

"G-George. George Simmons ma'am."

"You are an extremely disrespectful young man, George Simmons. Just because I am a woman, it does not mean that I will bow to your every whim!" Angelica had backed him against a wall by this point. Her fist reared back, and she hit him right in the jaw, effectively knocking him out. But what to do now? She couldn't just leave him out there in the street. It was empty right at that moment, but it would soon be crowded with people. Looking around, she spotted an empty barrel. With some difficulty, she managed to drag George over to the barrel and stuff him inside, putting the lid on. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but it was what he deserved for treating her in such a manner. Besides, the lid had a few holes in it, so it wasn't like he wouldn't be getting any air.

Daniel and Will exited the cell block just as she put the lid on, with Jack Sparrow in tow. "How did you get him out?" Angelica asked, to which Will shrugged his shoulders. "Pulled the door off of its hinges." He responded, as though it wasn't a big deal and something that he did every day.

"Okay then..." Angelica dusted her hands off on the skirt of her dress. "Do we want to know why you were following around with a barrel?" Daniel asked.

"I thought that you said the lass was keeping watch." Jack put in. "Some watcher she is."

Angelica rolled her eyes. "There happens to be a soldier in that barrel, whom  _ I  _ knocked out."

She showed them her bloody knuckles, which she hadn't noticed before now. They were started to sting a bit as well. Daniel whistled, impressed. "You have quite an arm."

"He made the mistake of calling me a common whore, I was simply making sure that he learned to never call me that again. So what's the next step?"

Jack started talking before Daniel could reply. "You need to get a change of clothes, lass. If you are going to come with us to save your darling sister, as these two seem to insist, then a dress simply won't do."

"I can find her some clothes." Daniel said. "We'll catch up with the two of you, you go and procure us a ship. I don't care how you do it, but just get it done. We'll meet the two of you at the docks."

Daniel and Angelica went to the Norrington house. Thankfully James was still gone, 'planning' a way to get Elizabeth back from the pirates. Angelica followed Daniel up to his bedroom, where she was given a shirt, pants, boots, and material to bind her chest with.

"I'll wait right outside the door for you." Daniel told her. "Just come out when you're ready."

Once he was gone, she quickly bound her chest and changed her clothes, but there was one last thing that needed to be done. She grabbed a pair of shears that were on the dresser, taking a final look at her long, wavy, dark brown locks before taking the shears to it and chopping all of it off. It felt exhilarating, and she ran her fingers through her now shortly cropped hair.

Daniel was definitely surprised by it. "It's um...it's quite the change, but it looks good on you."

"Thank you." She flushed a bit at the compliment. "It's just...I thought that if we were essentially going to be pirates, then I should probably look the part. Plus, depending on what ports we go to, it would probably be best that people didn't know that I am a woman, especially if one of our stops is Tortuga." She had heard quite a bit about that port, which was often frequented by pirates and men generally looking for a good time and a women's bosom for them to rest their heads on.

Daniel cleared his throat. "We should go, they're likely to leave without us if we aren't there soon, and there is no telling when my brother will return."

The ship that Will and Jack had managed to procure was called  _ The Interceptor _ , and it was one of the fastest ships in the fleet, if not in the entire Caribbean. Angelica watched as Port Royal became nothing but a speck in the distance. 

'Already feeling homesick, love?" Jack asked her, and Angelica shook her head. "Port Royal may have been where I lived, Jack, but it was not my home. I did not belong there, never have." Angelica turned her eyes towards the wide-open sea, wondering what the days ahead would bring them.


	5. Chapter 5

TW: Mention of rape

As it turned out, the very first port that the group stopped at was Tortuga, and Angelica found herself being extremely grateful that she had changed her appearance. Daniel was grateful for it as well.

"There are men here that would rape and kill you without batting an eye." Daniel told her as they stepped onto the small dock. "Some women as well."

As they walked, a red-headed woman approached Jack, and a look of recognition crossed over the pirate's face. Jack was about to greet her when she smacked him hard across the face. Angelica flinched, it had sounded like a particularly hard slap, and she wondered what Jack had done to invoke the woman's fury. The woman then disappeared into the crowd, and Jack sighed in relief. "Thank God, sometimes she slaps twice. Now come on, we need to find ourselves a crew."

They went into a pub called  _ The Faithful Bride,  _ and Angelica looked around. "You really expect to find a crew in this ragamuffin lot?"

"There's quite a diamonds in the rough here, lass." Jack said. After all, this is where I first started out."

"My question still stands."

Jack was trying to decide whether or not to be offended, and Daniel shook his head. "Let's just do what we came here to do, find a crew and get out of here. I don't want to stay in this ratty place any longer than I have to. Split up, try to find people that would make a good crew."

They all went to separate areas of the pub, and almost immediately, a rough-looking woman approached Angelica. She looked to be about ten years older than the Swann girl, with a long scar on her left cheek. "I heard that you're trying to put together a crew." She said in a hoarse voice. "I've been on the high seas ever since I was eleven years old. I'd like to offer my services."

"Oh." Angelica blinked, rather surprised that she had been able to find someone so quickly, although really it had been a case of the other woman seeking her out. "I'll happily accept your services, um..."

"Susan. Susan Flaherty."

"I'm Angelica." She shook Susan's hand. "We're desperately in need of crew members, so I'll take anyone that I can get."

Susan chuckled a bit. "You'll find that I'm quite capable. Is this your first time out on the ocean?"

Angelica flushed a bit, embarrassed that her skills, or rather, lack of, was so blatantly obvious to those around her. "Yes, it's my first time, I'm in kind of a desperate situation here. My sister was kidnapped by a band of pirates and I'm trying to get her back."

Susan shook her head. "If your sister was taken by pirates, then she is most likely dead."

"No." Angelica said firmly. "No, she was taken for a reason. Whether it was ransom or something else, I don't know, but I know that she isn’t dead, she can't be."

Susan sighed but didn't press it. "Who else is in your crew?"

"My friends Will and Daniel, and then we also have a pirate named Jack."

"Jack Sparrow?" Susan asked with a raised eyebrow, to which Angelica nodded her head, and Susan let out a heavy sigh. "He's about the worst pirate on the seven seas."

"We had no choice, the pirates that took my sister are commandeering the  _ Black Pearl _ , a ship that Jack knows well."

"I'm sure that he does know it well, considering that he used to be her captain. The pirates that now control the  _ Black Pearl  _ are cursed, it's something that everyone knows. Anyone who has crossed their path hasn't lived to see the next day. Now I'm more convinced than ever that your sister is no longer among the living, and that she has joined countless other souls in Davy Jones' locker."

"I don't know if my sister is alive or not, but I'm not going to be giving up hope." Angelica said stubbornly. "Maybe she is dead, but I'm not going to give up until I find out what's happened to her."

Susan stared at her for a long moment. "You have courage and resolve, that will get you places. But you are also naive, you have no idea how the outside world works, and that could prove to be your downfall. You need to learn, and you need someone other then Jack Sparrow to teach you."

"Are you offering yourself up for the position?" Angelica asked teasingly, and Susan chuckled again. "Someone has to, and I have a feeling that the men who are with you are just as naive as you are, so they aren't going to be of any help to you, and you shouldn't trust a word that comes out of a man's mouth anyways, they'll say anything to woo a woman over."

Susan walked with Angelica back over to Daniel, who shook her hand. "Welcome, we're glad to have you on board."

All of a sudden, a brawl broke out in the pub. Angelica had no idea who had started it, but she was barely able to avoid a metal cup that had come flying her way. "What the bloody hell is going on?"

"Brawls are common here." Susan grabbed a man that had tried to hit her and flung him onto a nearby table. "Welcome to Tortuga."

Another man took out his sword and tried to stab Angelica, but she withdrew her own sword and managed to block the attack in time. Daniel came up behind him and wrapped the man into a chokehold until he went unconscious. "I think that we should get you out of here."

"I think that's a pretty good idea." Angelica said as she quickly followed Daniel out of the pub, having to dodge various attacks along the way. She panted softly as she and Daniel went outside. "And Jack expects us to find a crew in that mess? Most of the people in there can't even walk a few feet without stumbling or falling onto their rear ends."

"That's most pirates for you." Daniel replied. "Not all of them are the big bad pirates that you heard stories about when you were a child. Many of them are simply drunkards that dream of endless riches and an endless supply of women. The ones that attacked Port Royal are different, they are more cutthroat than your average pirate and they will do whatever they want, kill whoever they want, and you can bet that they'll still be able to sleep at night."

"Susan told me that the pirates that took Elizabeth are cursed."

"That's certainly possible. There are a lot of rumors going around about the pirates that attacked Port Royal. I don't know what's true and what isn't, but I do know that they won't keep Elizabeth alive forever. Once they've achieved their goal, they'll kill her, I just hope that we're able to find her before their end goal is reached."


	6. Chapter 6

There was one more thing that had to be done before they could leave though. Angelica followed Jack towards a pigsty, where an older man laid. He looked slightly familiar, but Angelica couldn’t place him. She knew that she had seen him before though, if only she could remember where.

Jack grabbed a bucket that was laying on the ground, filling it with water from a nearby trough, and splashing it onto the man.

“Curse you for breathing, you slack-jawed idiot!” He spluttered as he sat up, and it was now that Angelica recognized him.

“Mr. Gibbs?” She gasped, and Gibbs looked at her with wide eyes. “Angelica Swann...as I live and breathe...what in the blazes are you doing in a place like Tortuga?”

“We’re in kind of a bind, and we need your help-” Angelica was interrupted as Will splashed another bucket of water on Gibbs.

“Blast it, I’m already awake!” Gibbs shouted at Will, who shrugged his shoulders. “That was for the smell.” He stated, causing Angelica to laugh before becoming serious. “Mr. Gibbs, Elizabeth has been kidnapped by pirates, cursed pirates, if what Susan says is accurate.”

“Good Lord.” Gibbs muttered, his face paling slightly, and Angelica got the feeling that he knew exactly what pirates she was talking about. “What the hell would Barbossa be wanting Elizabeth for?”

“Barbossa?”

“He’s the Captain of the _Black Pearl_ now.”

“And he’s a mean old coot.” Susan added. “He’s a pirate that you definitely don’t want to be pissing off, trust me on that.”

“I don’t care if he’s Jesus Christ.” ANgelica retorted. “He kidnapped my sister, and I’m going to make sure that he gets hell for that. If they’ve been cursed, then there has to be a way to undo the curse so that the pirates can be defeated. How did the curse even begin anyways?”

“By taking cursed treasure.” Gibbs explained. “Only by returning all of the cursed medallions can the curse be broken.”

“Medallions…” Angelica murmured. She gasped, her eyes widening in realization. “That’s it! I know now why Elizabeth was taken! It wasn’t for ransom at all!” She turned to Will. “Will, all those years ago, when we found you drifting in the ocean, there was a medallion around your neck. Elizabeth took it because she thought that you might have been a pirate and she didn’t want our father to hurt you.”

“Elizabeth took it?” Will asked in a quiet voice. “All these years, I thought that I had lost it...it had been my father’s…”

“The only way to lift the curse is with blood.” Jack said. “The blood of the one what took the medallions. William, if your father took one of the medallions, then it is only with his blood that can fix the curse...the blood that runs through your veins. As soon as Barbossa realizes that your lady love isn’t the one that they’re looking for, she’ll be as good as dead.”

‘Then we find her before they realize the mistake that they’ve made.” Angelica said firmly. At least now she knew why Elizabeth had been taken. She knew that her sister was smart and resourceful, she just hoped that Elizabeth would be able to hang on until they could rescue her, wherever she was.

  
  


Eventually, they managed to get a crew together. It wasn’t much of one, but at least they would be able to man the _Interceptor_. They were a ragtag bunch, but Angelica supposed that it was better then nothing after all.

Will, however, had a very different line of thinking. “How are we supposed to rescue Elizabeth with a group like this?” He demanded. “Besides Gibbs, none of them seem to have any idea of what they’re doing.”

“As much as you may not like it, we need them, Will.” Angelica replied. “Come on now, you honestly didn’t think that we would be finding people worthy of being in the Royal Navy, did you? Yes, they may not be the best or the brightest, but it’s better than nothing, so I suggest that you be grateful that we managed to find anyone at all.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you were the one in charge and not Sparrow.” Susan said as she watched the two with an amused expression on her face. 

“A smart man knows to not argue with a woman when her anger has been set off.” Jack responded, causing Angelica to roll her eyes. “In other words, the mighty and fierce Jack Sparrow is frightened of a woman that has never even lifted a sword in battle. Consider me honored.”

“Speaking of that…” Daniel walked over to her. “Seeing as how we have no idea when our first battle would be, I think that it would be a good idea to give you some training with a blade.” He tossed her a sword, but Angelica fumbled in catching it, and it went clattering to the ground.

“Hmmm...we’ll have to work on that.” Daniel mused as Angelica’s face flushed pink. “But that’s something that can be worked on at a later time. Pick up the sword, we’re going to start off by working on some basic defensive maneuvers. I’m going to charge at you, and you’re going to do your best to try and block my attacks.”

Angelica nodded her head as she picked her sword up off of the ground. It was a bit heavy, definitely not something that she was used to carrying. Over time, the strength in her arms would develop and she would be able to handle the sword with ease.

Daniel swung at her, and Angelica just barely managed to block the blow, walking backwards towards the stern of the _Interceptor_ as Daniel continued to swing at her. He clearly knew what he was doing and was experienced with a sword. Well, being the brother of a Commodore, he probably had a bit of training growing up.

Daniel managed to succeed in disarming Angelica, and he pointed his sword at her throat as her sword fell to the deck of the ship. 

“You lasted longer then I thought that you would.” He mused. “You wouldn’t have lasted long in a real battle, but you’ll get better with time and practice. Pick up your sword and we’ll go at it again.”

  
  


They had kept at it until the sun began to disappear in the sky and Angelica felt so stiff and sore that she could barely move.

“You’ll be thanking me later.” Daniel told her. “The soreness is your muscles developing strength. After a few days, the stiffness and soreness will disappear and you will find yourself able to do more than you were previously able to.” He grinned at her. “I wonder what your father would say if he knew that you were learning how to use a sword and that you were planning on taking on a group of pirates.”

“He would probably faint from the shock of it all.” Angelica responded with a laugh. “Then when he revived he would tell me how unladylike I was being and how Elizabeth would have never done such a thing.” Angelica knew that her father had always favored Elizabeth out of the two girls, that had been no secret. Angelica loved him all the same though, he was her father after all. She had tried at first to be the girl that he wanted her to be, she really had. But in doing so, she had realized that she was losing herself, losing who she was. Besides, it hadn’t even done any good, it hadn’t made him pay any more attention to her, she never heard him tell her how proud he was of her, not like he told Elizabeth frequently, so she decided that it wasn’t any use trying to be someone that she wasn’t.

“I’m sorry.” Daniel said suddenly, and Angelica looked at him in surprise. “Whatever for?”

“For your father, that he can’t see what an amazing woman you are, how strong you are, how resilient.”

Angelica blushed darkly at his words. “Daniel-” She was cut off a Daniel lightly gripped her chin so that she stared into his eyes, and she felt her breath hitching in her throat. 

Daniel’s eyes flitted down to her lips for a brief moment before trailing back up to her dark orbs. “He’s an idiot for not seeing how special you really are.” He murmured. Their lips were inching closer and closer together, they were almost touching…

Daniel abruptly pulled away. “You should get some rest, we’ll be training again bright and early tomorrow morning.” He walked off, leaving Angelica in a state of confusion. What the bloody hell had just happened?


	7. Chapter 7

That night, Angelica tossed and turned as she tried to sleep. But sleep didn't come to her, her brain was too active, thoughts of the nearly intimate moment that she and Daniel had earlier. Was she imagining things, or had Daniel really been about to kiss her? Her hammock swung lightly back and forth, the snores of the other crewmates filling her ears. Daniel hadn't been too keen on the thought of Angelica sleeping with the rest of the crew, but Susan had assured him that everything would be alright, and that she would even sleep next to Angelica if that made him feel any better about it. It didn't, but he also knew that there wasn't really anything that he could do about it, either.

"Can't sleep?"

It would seem that Susan was lacking the ability to sleep as well, or maybe she had remained awake to make sure that none of the men tried to do anything to Angelica. The Swann woman didn't know, but she was glad all the same, because she needed someone to talk to about things, a woman.

"Not really." Angelica sighed a bit. "There's just something that I can't get out of my head enough for me to be able to fall asleep."

"I'm assuming that this is about the moment that you shared with Norrington earlier?"

"How did you know?"

"I'm a woman, meaning that I'm naturally observant when it comes to these kinds of things. I see the way that you look at Norrington, and I also know that he looks at you in the same manner, but I also know that it will never come to fruition. You are the daughter of a governor, and he is a bastard, do you really think that your father would condone any kind of matrimony between the two of you?"

Angelica knew that Susan was right, her father would have her marry someone with money, someone like the elder Norrington. Angelica could hope and dream all she wanted to, but she knew that her father would never allow her to marry someone like Daniel, it was just something that wasn't in the cards, for either of them.

"Why couldn't I have been born a scullery maid or something?" Angelica murmured, causing Susan to laugh a little bit. "Trade places with me, I would do it in a heartbeat."

"Trust me, you would get tired of it quickly. You have no freedom."

"No, but you have relative protection. An army at your disposal, people at your feet, desperately wanting to get your approval. All the food that you could ever eat, never wanting a single thing. I would give anything to have that." Susan sat up in her hammock, looking at Angelica. "You don't know how truly lucky you are, Angelica. You may not be able to see it, but you're the luckiest one out of all of us here."

"Really? My father trying to force me to marry someone that I do not love, someone who doesn't even love me, just the money that comes with my name, that's lucky to you?"

"What good is freedom if you're always on the run, if you're always hungry? You don't know what it's like. Yes, you would have the freedom to do as you please, but you wouldn't like that freedom half as much if you were constantly hungry, constantly trying to avoid the gallows." Susan laid back down again, this time with her back facing Angelica. 

Angelica sighed once more. She just couldn't see things from Susan's point of view. Angelica didn't want all of the fancy dresses, she didn't want the lavish meals. She wanted to be able to do as she pleased, to go where she wanted and not have anyone try and stop her from doing it or telling her what was or wasn't considered ladylike. Angelica wasn't the kind of person to do what she was told. If she felt that it was wrong then she spoke up about it. In this day and age, women were seen and not heard, they did what they were told and they didn't ask any questions. They pleased their husbands and bore them children. That was what was expected of women, and they did it without complaint. 

But Angelica wasn't like most women, she didn't just drop everything because a man was feeling particularly needy. She didn't spread her legs to a man because it was her 'duty', and that was what got her in trouble with her father all of the time. She didn't do what was expected of her, she did what she wanted to do. If her father wanted her to do something that felt wrong to Angelica, then she spoke up about it. Such as marrying a man that she didn't love. To Angelica, it felt wrong just to marry for money and position. When you marry, it should be because you love each other, not because it would benefit you financially. 

Finally, Angelica closed her eyes, and the ship gently rocking back and forth sent her to sleep, where odd dreams decided to make themselves known.

Angelica was there, but she wasn't at the same time. It was like she was a ghost. She could see people, but they couldn't see her, just walked right through her as though she were nothing. The street was dark besides the few lamps that were lit. Angelica was standing in front of a large house that she knew immediately, for it was her own house. Things weren't as she remembered them, they were different...newer. Angelica peered in a window, where she saw her father and a woman holding a baby girl that had beautiful golden curls. Elizabeth. But Angelica had no idea who the woman was, she had never seen her before. It wasn't their mother, it couldn't be, she looked nothing like the portrait that Weatherby Swann had shown Angelica. Angelica heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see a woman in a ratty dress, her dark brown hair hanging limply at her shoulders. Now, this was the woman that Angelica knew. This was the woman that Angelica knew as her mother. But something was wrong, she wasn't the beautiful woman that Angelica's father had made her out to be. She looked sickly, like she might die at any moment. A cough left the woman's lips as she set a wicker basket down on the steps of the house. Cooing came from inside the basket.

"Don't worry my sweet." The woman said, her voice quiet, hoarse. "You will be protected here, my darling daughter." She took a piece of paper out of her dress pocket, placing it inside the basket. She rang the doorbell of the house before running off into the dark night. Angelica continued to watch as her father opened the door, his eyes widening in shock as he looked down at the basket. He picked it up and carried it inside, leaving Angelica to be extremely confused. What on Earth had just happened? She had a feeling that the child that was inside of the basket was her, but it didn't make sense with everything that her father had told her about her, about her mother. Had he been lying to her this entire time? The world around her started to fade, Angelica knew that she would be waking up soon. And when she did, once Elizabeth was safe, she was going to be getting answers from her father about this, about everything. 


	8. Chapter 8

Angelica woke up from the dream with a start. What the hell had that been? What had bloody happened? She was extremely confused, and left wanting answers. Had that been just a dream? Or was it a memory that had been buried deep in her subconscious? Who was the baby that had been in the basket? Had it been her?

Shaking her head, Angelica got up out of her bed and went up to the deck so that she could clear her thoughts. Most everyone else was still asleep, except for those that had been put on night duty. 

One of those people was Will, who had been put on night duty probably by Jack. Will didn't look tired though; he looked wide awake, his eyes scanning over the watery horizon. Angelica knew that he was as worried about Elizabeth as she was, maybe even more so. He didn't say anything, but Angelica knew that his feelings towards her sister were more than just friendly, he loved her, and Angelica wished that Elizabeth could see it, and see that she could do so much better than Norrington. Sure, James Norrington had money and a title, but he was quite a boring man, at least in Angelica's opinion. Norrington would expect Elizabeth to be a traditional woman; to cook and clean for him, to bear him children. It might be a life that Elizabeth wouldn't mind living, but Angelica would rather die before living a life like that.

"Couldn't sleep?" Will's words interrupted Angelica's thoughts, and she nodded her head as she turned to look at him. "Yes, I had really odd dreams, but it didn't feel like it was a dream, it almost felt like it was a memory." She proceeded to tell him about the dream that she'd had, and Will listened with a perplexed look on his face. "The baby was just left on Governor Swann's doorstep?"

"Yes, and the woman that left the child looked exactly like my mother, it _was_ my mother, I'm sure of that, but that's where I start to not understand things. My father always told Elizabeth and I that our mother died giving birth to me." When they had been younger, Elizabeth had blamed Angelica for the death of their mother. Over time though, she realized that it hadn't been something that Angelica could control.

"The sea air can do odd things to a person's mind." Will said, as a way of explaining away Angelica's dream. "Especially for someone who has not been out on the open sea." It had been a long time since Angelica had been on any kind of boat, the last time had been when they had seen Will floating amidst the wreckage of a ship. For some reason, that had scared Weatherby Swann, and now whenever he had to go to one of the other ports on business, he would have a governess remain with the girls. 

"Will, I'm fairly certain that this was more than an odd dream caused by the sea air." Angelica stated. "It felt so much more real than that. I can't help but think that it was a memory of some sort, that I was the child that was in the basket."

"If that's true, then that would mean that you are an illegitimate child of Governor Swann."

"I know, and that's probably why he never told me." Did this mean that her mother was still alive, that she was out there somewhere? Once they had Elizabeth and were safely back in Port Royal, Angelica was going to look into this matter, and she was going to start by asking her father questions, a lot of questions. 

When Jack finally exited the captain's quarters later that morning, he stood at the wheel, occasionally glancing at his compass. 

"That compass doesn't even work." Daniel said as he shook his head. He said nothing to Angelica about the day before. He didn't say anything at all to her, in fact. Whenever Angelica had tried to talk to him, he had been short with her and walked away. It made Angelica think that she had done something wrong, but she didn't know what it could have been, if she did, she would have tried to do something to rectify it.

"Of course it works." Jack retorted. "Just not in the traditional sense that a compass works. It points me in the direction that I'm wanting to go."

David shook his head. "You just aren't wanting to admit that it doesn't work."

"Oh, ye of little faith. This compass is going to lead us straight to Miss Swann, and towards my precious Pearl."

David rolled his eyes. "We're going to a location that isn't on any kind of map, and your compass is just supposed to magically lead us to where we need to go?"

"Boys, that's enough." Susan snapped, making both men look at her. "It doesn't matter whether or not the compass works, the only thing that matters is that we go to where we need to go. How we get there or what we use to guide us doesn't make a lick of difference."

Angelia could practically taste the tension in the air between the two men, the testosterone that they were giving off was so thick that you could probably cut it with a knife. 

"Good." Susan nodded her head. "Now that we have that settled, what's the plan for when we actually get there?"

"Isla de Muerta is where the cursed treasure is." Jack explained. "That's where they'll take Elizabeth. They'll draw blood from her, since they think she's directly descended from whoever it was that took the medallion in the first place."

"Whatever she told them, it must have made them think that she could break this curse." Angelica stated. "I don't know what it was that she told them, but it's kept her alive, so it must mean that she's pretty important to them."

Jack estimated that they would reach Isla de Muerta within the next day or two, if the winds stayed in their favor. But as they would find out later that evening, the winds would not be in their favor, nothing would be in their favor.


End file.
